Cherish
by Dior Crystal
Summary: Love knows no boundaries; that is what a romantic like Ino Yamanaka believes. No words ring truer as her unexpected relationship with Itachi Uchiha blossoms. ItaIno. AU.


Ino could not help it.

After managing to catch a glimpse of one of their new neighbour's son, the blonde had immediately gotten jittery from the prospect of having new eye candy to add to her ever growing collection of attractive men to stare at - whom she always managed to scare off one way or another. And since the married couple apparently had another son, if he was old enough, Ino might as well add him to the list too- if their mother was that good-looking, it only makes sense that she had managed to produce equally aesthetically-pleasing offspring now, isn't it? Well, she wasn't too sure about their father since she hadn't seen him yet, but Ino was pretty sure that the other son was probably going to be a looker too.

So it was with a pair of binoculars held between slender fingers that Ino Yamanaka tipped her head back a slight amount in order to get a better view of the window on the second floor, to the left, where the silhouette of one lone person could be seen. _Target spotted_. Ino's lips stretched into a mischievous smile, mind already recalling the once-in-a-lifetime-catch that she had gotten a glimpse of earlier today in the morning, when the rays of sunlight had long chased away the darkness of night and she was walking at a fast pace to school. It had only been a quick look, barely lasting for three seconds, but that was more than enough for Ino's attention to lock on to the man.

Raven-haired, she recalled. Dark locks neatly tied in a low ponytail, stubborn bangs framing clean cut features, and beautifully-shaped eyes holding a certain air of mystery even as the smallest of smiles touched them—why, yes, she _had_ managed to notice that much even though it had been but a few fleeting seconds, why do you ask?

But honestly speaking, after allowing herself to be bored way out of her mind listening to numerous dreadful lectures in school, she should get a bit of a reward at the end of the day now, shouldn't she? And what better way to reward herself than a nice long look at her sexy new neighbour?

Reaching for the appropriate option of the binoculars as the wheels spun in her mind, urging her to greet her new neighbours as soon as possible, Ino was barely able to zoom in on the figure when something soft hit the back of her head. A pillow.

"Get back to studying, Ino," Sakura's stern voice sounded from the other end of the room. No doubt that the pink-haired girl had not budged an inched from where she sat on the bed, textbook propped on her lap, studious as she was. Even with her back turned to her, Ino could picture the disapproving frown that adorned her friend's face. Sakura was so predictable. "And stop spying on the poor guy."

Pffft.

Ino just stuck her tongue out at her.

Billboard Brow really didn't know what she was missing.

* * *

Room dimly lit, softly illuminated as it was by orange light that came from the shaded lamp set in one corner of the room, a young man sat by the window of his bedroom, the white curtains drawn open as he stared out at his surroundings- which were blanketed by pitch black, only the occasional glows of light cast from street lamps and homes breaking the flow of it. Fair fingers splayed across the wooden window frame almost experimentally, taking note of the smooth surface that skin met, and the barest scent of paint lingered in the air, one among the many indications that pointed to the fact that this building had gained new occupants, ones who were decorating it to their tastes. Save for the distant murmurs of conversation, and not to mention the scampering of feet fast approaching his room, the new home of the Uchiha family was nestled in the embrace of peaceful quiet.

Feeling the small, almost minute tremors that spread across the floor, alerting him to what was most likely his younger brother's presence - no one else in his family ran about as recklessly - Itachi Uchiha pulled his almost unseeing gaze away from the view that was mapped out before him to lower it on the ball of energy that had just appeared by his side. He need not even be told to know that Sasuke was most likely grinning at the moment, mouth spread wide across his little face.

"Niisan!" Sasuke said, the little boy barely reaching his waist in height as he clung to his older brother's arm.

Sasuke did not say more than that, though- and there was no need to. It was not unusual for Sasuke to get a bit clingy after not spending even just a few hours with his beloved older brother; the boy, in his eagerness to help everyone settle into their new home as quickly as possible, had spent the majority of the day helping their parents with what he could. For the most part, however, he had made a bit of a mess of things, but he meant well. The edges of his lips lifting in a small smile, Itachi extended a hand and placed it atop the tuft of spiky raven hair as dark as his own, silent as the other was at the moment. Though normally hyperactive, his brother's presence was always a relaxing one.

* * *

The truck was there again when Ino decided to head over next door the following day with her poor, unresisting, still-in-the-process-of-waking-up father in tow, a basket of carefully arranged fruits held in her hands. The presence of the truck was hardly surprising, though; after all, it had only been yesterday that their new neighbours moved in, so there were bound to be a couple more things that needed to be shifted into their new home. Blue eyes picked out several pieces of furniture that were placed at the garden for the time being, and Ino noted that whoever it was that did the décor, they certainly had good taste. Probably the mother.

"Really, Ino…" Inoichi was barely able to hold back a yawn as he trailed after his daughter, who was dressed a bit _too _nicely for a simple visit to the neighbour's. "Couldn't you have at least waited till I finished having my coffee?"

"Don't you know? It's not good to procrastinate on things!" Ino replied airily, and if she had heard him mutter something about her constantly procrastinating on homework, it was to remain unseen as just then, a few seconds after she had knocked on the door, it swung open to reveal a woman with long, dark hair. The mother. She looked at them curiously, and was well about to greet them when Ino beat her to it. As always. A chatterbox, Ino had always been the one to start conversations.

"Hello!" Ino said cheerily. "We're from next door, and we're here to welcome you to the neighbourhood!"

And whether Mikoto Uchiha – that was what the woman said her name was – and the rest of the family were sincerely pleased to have the Yamanaka father-daughter duo disrupt their relatively quiet Saturday morning or were simply too polite to turn them away was also left to remain unseen, for the amiable woman allowed them into her abode. A bit messy with boxes both open and unopened set on the floor, but it looked like they were making good progress from the looks of the already carefully arranged furniture.

From what Ino could tell after the necessary introductions were made, Mikoto appeared to be a fairly traditional Japanese woman, soft spoken and polite—but she was also quite strict, which was evidenced from when she scolded her younger son Sasuke for running around the house. That was a bit of a disappointment, seeing her other son - too young! - but at least he was a very cute child. Cheery and full of energy. As for the man of the house, Fugaku, he looked a bit uptight at first glance what with the (what seemed to be) permanently etched scowl on his face, but since he was able to chuckle a bit at one of the jokes that her father made, Ino supposed that he was alright. Maybe he was just stressed from the ordeal of moving, the first few days are always the most difficult. She didn't fancy the thought of ever making him angry, though. One glare from him could probably kill.

But where was the hottie she saw yesterday?

Ino pouted, and it was really only while they were having a cup of tea in the living room after giving them a hand with unpacking for a bit that she oh-so-subtly asked Mikoto about the other boy that she had seen yesterday. But seeing that she was talking to his mother, Ino refrained from using the description that she had going in her head – sexy, adorable, mysterious, alluring… among many others – and simply went with "long-haired guy". Boring, and not her preferred choice of words, but it was sufficient. At her words, Mikoto blinked, cup of tea still held delicately in hand.

"You mean Itachi?" Oh, so _that _was his name. How cute! It was an animal name, just like hers too. Ino liked that. Nodding, the blond girl leaned forward slightly in her eagerness for the information that was sure to come, encouraging her to go on. Sure enough, Mikoto continued, "He's out back with Sasuke. The both of them are probably messing around, I bet. They're near inseparable. But oh! Before you go-"

Already, Ino was making to rise from her seat, ready to excuse herself from the table.

"Hm?"

"You should be careful, Ino-chan." Mikoto leaned forward, a hand cupped at the side of her face as though she was about to impart a secret. "Itachi told me that he felt like he was being watched all day yesterday and he should know, he has good senses."

All of this was said with a smile on her face. -... Shrewd. It looked like Mikoto Uchiha was not all that innocent, after all.

But, even with the heat of embarrassment beginning to rise up her neck, prickling her skin in the process, Ino Yamanaka managed to laugh it off and thanked Mikoto for the piece of advice before she promptly excused herself from the table. There was no way that Mikoto could have known now, could she? Or maybe Ino was just thinking too much. She just hoped that Mikoto was not going to go too into depth on the story with her father; there was not a single doubt in mind that Inoichi would be able to guess just who it was that had been watching the oblivious(?) boy.

All thoughts pertaining to that, however, immediately flew out of her mind the moment Ino stepped into the back garden, where she was bathed in golden rays of sunlight that spilled across the area, and it did not take her at all long to spot the Uchiha brothers, who were settled under a shady tree. Itachi had a book in one hand, and Sasuke was snuggled by his side, seemingly content to just be in his big brother's presence as he "drew" imaginary pictures on the palm of the older boy's hand with his finger. Embarrassment forgotten, a smile stretched on her lips once more. Ino did not have any siblings, but it really was a heart-warming sight. They must have been very close.

_But it's funny, really,_ she could not help but think. For a couple of boys, they really were rather quiet, especially when one took Sasuke's personality into consideration. How was this messing around? Why wasn't he chattering Itachi's ears off? It seemed like the sort of thing he would have done- Sasuke had done just that with his mother awhile ago.

Her questions were answered when Itachi turned his head in her general direction at her approaching them, and whatever greeting that she may have had when she had extended her hand toward him died on her lips, mind already connecting the dots. It wasn't because she found that he was far better looking up close than the minute glimpse that she had gotten of him yesterday that she had fallen silent, or that he was wearing an absolutely innocent expression that would have made just about anyone want to pinch his cheeks, OR that the way light shadows that fell across his face gave him a most flattering air of mysteriousness. It was something else entirely.

It was the fact that his eyes were unnaturally light, like there was semi-transparent film that blanketed across dark pupils.

And the book he was reading? It was written in Braille.

Catching herself, she greeted him, though this time, she withdrew her hand-

"Ahaha. Sorry, I was just a bit surprised there," Ino laughed nervously. "My name is Ino Yamanaka. It's nice to meet you!"

-Because he couldn't see.

But at the stretch of silence denoting his lack of response after her greeting, Ino could not help but have a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach.

* * *

**Dior:** A little chaptered fic after nearly a year of not writing anything. It's not going to be overly long, maybe it'll be about four chapters. Don't... really know what to feel about this fic but, eh. Enjoy.


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